1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to aqueous, liquid, builderless, suspension-stable multipurpose cleaning preparations for hard surfaces which act as abrasives or polishes when applied in dilute form to hard surfaces, but which behave like typical water-soluble, manual dishwashing detergents or like non-abrasive multipurpose cleaners for hard surfaces, depending on the degree of dilution with tapwater.
2. Description of Related Art
Liquid, manual dishwashing detergents which are generally used at slightly elevated temperatures essentially contain as their active components mixtures of synthetic anionic surfactants in quantities of from about 4 to 60% by weight and, optionally, small quantities of nonionic surfactants, preferably alkanolamides, or amphorteric surfactants, and also solvents, solution promoters, hydrotropes, perfumes and dyes, preservatives, viscosity regulators, pH regulators and electrolytes. In order to protect the skin, the pH value is in the range of from about 5.5 to 8.0. In some cases, although not typically, they may contain small quantities of builders or complexing agents, such as hexametaphosphate or ethylene diamine tetraacetate, for use in areas with water of high iron content. Preparations such as these are known, for example from European Pat. No. 36,625.
Multipurpose cleaning preparations, i.e. preparations for cleaning various hard surfaces both in the home and in industry and commerce, preferably contain as their active components combinations of anionic and nonionic surfactants in a total quantity of from about 5 to 15% by weight together with detergency-enhancing builders in quantities of from about 0.5 to 5% by weight. The other detergency-enhancing components used are generally solvents, including terpene compounds, while polyethylene glycols corresponding to the general formula HO--(CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 --O).sub.n --H, where n may vary from 4,800 to 64,600, are used as organic polymers to increase cleaning performance. These preparations also contain dyes and perfumes, electrolytes and viscosity regulators. Their pH-value is preferably in the range of from 8.5 to 11 because the cleaning power which, in the case of these preparations, has to be developed mainly at room temperature is generally better in an alkaline medium than in a neutral or acidic medium. Multipurpose cleaning preparations of this type are also known, for example, from German Pat. No. 27 09 690 and from corresponding European Pat. No. 9,193. No provision is made in such preparations for the inclusion of abrasives.
Mild scouring preparations can also be used for cleaning movable and immovable hard surfaces, such as walls, tiles, cookers, sinks and the like. These mild abrasive preparations may be solid, liquid or paste-like. They contain relatively small quantities of surfactants, but relatively high concentrations of mildly alkaline inorganic builders. The scouring preparations naturally contain a large quantity of water-insoluble abrasives, for example feldspar, silica or pumice.
Accordingly, cleaning preparations of different composition are generally marketed and used for related, but different cleaning problems. In the household, however, manual dishwashing detergents are also frequently used for cleaning hard surfaces, particularly in the kitchen, although the cleaning results cannot be optimal in that case, as explained above. In this connection, it does not matter whether the dishwashing detergents are used in concentrated form or in dilute form. Conversely, the use of commercial multipurpose cleaners or liquid scouring preparations for manual dishwashing also gives unsatisfactory results.
Accordingly, there was a need for a multipurpose cleaner in which high detergency and compatability with the skin are combined with the high emulsifying power of conventional multipurpose cleaners and with the abrasive effect of a muld scouring preparation, i.e. which at a neutral pH-value shows a level of detergency which otherwise would only be obtained with alkaline, builder-containing cleaners.
Builderless liquid cleaning preparations which may be used on the one hand for scouring and on the other hand for manual dishwashing, i.e. as dual-purpose cleaning preparations, and which contain from 20 to 35% by weight of anionic surfactants, from 2 to 15% by weight of foam-stabilizing nonionic surfactants, from 1 to 20% by weight of water-insoluable abrasives having a particle diameter of from 15 to 150 .mu.m and a Mohs' hardness of from 2 to 7 and also from 20 to 75% by weight of water are already known from European Patent Application No. 21,545. Correspondingly, useable abrasive-containing cleaners which may contain two different anionic surfactants, preferably in conjunction with nonionic surfactants, but in addition a required percentage of builders are described in Canadian Pat. No. 1,143,240. However, these known cleaners foam excessively for use as multipurpose cleaners (generally far away from any source of water) and, because of this, have to be wiped unnecessarily vigorously with moist sponge cloths in order to prevent the particles of abrasive from forming residues.